pucker
Americanverb (used with or without object)
-
puckers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
puckered,
past participle, past
-
puckering
present participle
noun
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puckers
plural
-
a wrinkle; an irregular fold.
-
a puckered part, as of cloth tightly or crookedly sewn.
-
Archaic. a state of agitation or perturbation.
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
puckersimple
-
puckerssimple
-
have puckeredperfect
-
has puckeredperfect
-
am puckeringprogressive
-
are puckeringprogressive
-
is puckeringprogressive
-
have been puckeringperfect progressive
-
has been puckeringperfect progressive
Past
-
puckeredsimple
-
had puckeredperfect
-
was puckeringprogressive
-
were puckeringprogressive
-
had been puckeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pucker
1590–1600; apparently a frequentative form connected with poke 2; see -er 6 and for the meaning cf. purse
Explanation
Pucker is a verb for what happens when something smooth or flat gets folded up into little wrinkles, like how you pucker your lips when you go to kiss someone — you, wild flirt, you! When you use a sewing machine, sometimes the cloth puckers in wrinkly clumps that make it hard to sew in a straight line. Most of the time, it’s lips that do the puckering, maybe because you want a kiss, but also sucking on a lemon can make your lips pucker. If someone tells you to “pucker up,” they might want to kiss you, or they might throw a sour pickle at your head. Either way, get ready.
Vocabulary lists containing pucker
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He avoids kissing for 24 hours before a performance and 48 hours before a competition because it makes it difficult to sustain a pucker.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
The kind that makes your mouth pucker and your tongue go numb from all the acids decimating your taste buds.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2025
Mattel should have considered traditional pucker toe moccasins, instead of black shoes, and included symbols on the basket that Cherokees use to tell a story, she said.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 4, 2023
If a bite of dandelion greens or extra-dark chocolate makes you pucker, there’s good reason.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 12, 2023
He was careful not to use scary military terms such as virus amplification, lethal chain of transmission, crash and bleed, or major pucker factor.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
The building alternately puckers and swells, like the indolent flexing of a muscle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Fattoush is one of the bright, simple joys of summer: Tomatoes spill sunshine, pita shards and cucumbers take turns showing off their snap, sumac puckers, and mint and parsley cool, often, in a single bite.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2022
The crunchy onion gives a little sweetness while the pickle puckers in the most pleasing way to cut through all that heat.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 27, 2022
There are friendly masks with big, toothy grins, or red lipstick puckers.
From Washington Post ● May 18, 2020
Mary’s mouth puckers, and she gives me a hard look.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
Some people love the sound of songs blown through puckered lips, or at least appreciate the effort.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
Hashtags such as #sunburntanlines, #sunpoisoning and #sunstroke are popping up alongside videos of young men and women - some in tears - revealing deep red, almost purple, often puckered skin.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2025
“That class, leading those guys, there were some puckered up Porsches and Corvettes,” Hendrick said.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 11, 2023
It’s puckered with what looks like bright red mouths.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2023
She puckered her lips and blew me an air-kiss.
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
Astringency is the dry, puckering, rough, or sandpapery feeling people notice when eating foods rich in certain plant compounds called polyphenols.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 7, 2026
These candies will have your mouth puckering — and salivating for more.
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2025
“They’re the Sour Patch Kids of chips,” said one puckering colleague.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 7, 2022
The building — which soars some 15 stories — sits surrounded by a chain-link fence, with broken windows puckering its elongated, and rusted, rooftop cupola.
From New York Times ● Jan. 22, 2022
She shifted her attention to my hands, where I was yanking the thread with such tension that the fabric was puckering.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
